Mark Dayton (b. January 26, 1947 Minneapolis, MN) is the DemocraticGovernor of Minnesota.[1] He was first elected governor in 2010 and was sworn into office on January 3, 2011. His term will expire in January of 2015.

One of the chief issues from Dayton's first term has been taxes. He argued for tax increases during his 2010 gubernatorial campaign in 2010 and continued advocating for them during legislative debates over the state budget. In the summer of 2011, Dayton's demand for tax increases on the state's highest earners clashed with Republicans' refusal to consider any hikes, resulting in the memorable shutdown of the Minnesota government.[2] On May 23, 2013, Dayton signed a tax bill raising the tax rate for upper-income residents.

Before becoming governor, Dayton served in the United States Senate for a single term during which he was cited for erratic behavior and lack of legislative productivity by his then-colleagues, Dayton declined to run for re-election. His old seat is now head by fellow Democrat Amy Klobuchar.[3]

Early in his career, Dayton was a social worker in Boston, Massachusetts. He made his first bid for U.S. Senate in 1982. He lost the election, however he remained in public life working as Walter Mondale's legislative assistant and in 1990 he was elected Minnesota State Auditor.

Dayton is eligible for re-election and will seek a second term as governor in 2014. The general election will take place on November, 4, 2014.[4]

Biography

A Minnesota native, Mark Dayton was born to Gwendolen May Brandt and Bruce Bliss Dayton. On his father's side, he is descended from George Dayton, founder of Dayton's Department Stores. The fortune he inherited has helped Dayton in his political ambitions; he spent $12 million of his personal wealth on his 2000 Senate campaign and, to date, just under $3 million on his gubernatorial campaign.

Growing up in Long Lake, Dayton studied at the Blake School in Hopkins. He went to college at Yale, where he played Division I Hockey. While at Yale, he joined Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, where future president George W. Bush was a brother. After graduating, he spent two years teaching in New York City's public high schools. In 1971, he moved to Boston and spent time in social work.

Education

Yale University, B.A., 1969, cum laude

Political career

Governor of Minnesota

Tax increase

Dayton signed a bill increasing taxes by $2.1 billion on May 23, 2013. This legislation included a $1.60 per pack increase on cigarette taxes and a higher tax rate for upper-income residents.[5] Individuals earning at least $150,000 per year and couples earning $250,000 per year will pay a 9.85 percent rate on earned income.[6] Dayton supported tax increases to fill a $627 million deficit, boost funding for early education programs and pay for a portion of a new football stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. The governor argued for tax increases during his gubernatorial campaign in 2010 and continued advocating for increases during legislative debates over the state budget. "My feeling is, everybody ought to pay their fair share of taxes. If you make more, you pay more; if you make less, you pay less," stated Dayton during a March 2013 speech in Duluth.[7]

Government shutdown

Dayton played a leading role in the summer 2011 shutdown of the Minnesota government after he and the Republican-controlled legislature failed to agree on a plan to close the $5 billion deficit in the state's biennial budget. Dayton had demanded tax increases on the state's highest earners, while Republicans refused to consider any hikes and insisted on spending cuts. The state government's non-essential services subsequently shut down on July 1, furloughing 23,000 state employees.[9]

Dayton defended his hardline stance against spending cuts, saying "most of the money the state collects doesn’t go to a bureaucracy. It goes to the people of Minnesota, who need services — education, health care and the like."[10] He has suggested that an all-cuts solution to the state's budget problem would fall excessively hard on the state's most vulnerable citizens.

Campaign donors

Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Mark Dayton's donors each year.[11] Click [show] for more information.